Category: Resources

Every part of your body, even the tiny cells in your organs need water to function properly. That is why 60% of the adult human body is made up of water. The water that’s in your body system is used up when you move, think, even when you don’t do anything. That is why you will need to bring one of the best water bottles for cycling when you need to ride on your bike to race or just want to enjoy a ride on your bike around town. You see, even while you are just breathing, you lose body water.

The water that your body loses as you breathe will depend on the humidity level of the air. You may lose about 300 to 500 milliliters of body fluids just by breathing. This is how it happens. As you inhale, you pull in cooler, less humid air. In the process, your body moistens the surface of your lungs and adds moisture to the air as it passes through the airways. As you exhale, the air is warmed up to about 90°F with a relative humidity of almost 100%. This humidified air gets lost to the outside environment. In essence, when you breathe, you pull water from your body and release it into the air when you exhale.

That’s just about when you breathe. Imagine all the other processes that your body regularly undertakes to keep you moving about and doing the things that you do. Without water, it will be impossible to digest the food that you eat, nor distribute the minerals and vitamins from these foods to the other parts of the body. What about carrying oxygen to your brains and your lungs? Even your bones need water as it helps deliver calcium, magnesium, and other bone-building nutrients to your skeleton. Water also helps flush out toxins from the body, including the bones.

As the fluids in the body are constantly used up, you will need to have it replaced to ensure that all body functions will continue and that you may not risk having to give in to dehydration. Note that even if your body loses about 2 to 3 percent of body weight when you sweat, you may already experience mild dehydration.

If you plan to ride your bike any time of the week, you need to make sure that you will be able to top up at regular intervals. Bringing the best water bottles for cycling is always a smart choice.

If you are a professional athlete, you understand the significance of planning your route. Doing so may actually help you to ride through a route where there are plenty of potable water sources. Even then, there are many athletes who have also experienced dehydration along the way, so you should always be careful when planning your next ride. Even if you are just a casual rider, you may also underestimate your thirst mechanism or you may just focus on finishing your ride, causing you to neglect constantly topping up, which could put you to a really dangerous situation.

To help you get your hydration plan ready for your next ride, you may need to consider this guide. Here are some tips that can keep you hydrated and boost your performance as you ride your bike.

How To Stay Hydrated While Cycling

Start and remain hydrated as you go

Keeping yourself properly hydrated on the bike requires extending the hydration process throughout your daily life. You should never ride a bike if you are already dehydrated in the first place. Hydration should also begin as you start your day. Drink about 500 ml glass of water first thing in the morning when you wake up to help replenish whatever amount of body fluids that you have lost while you were sleeping. As you proceed with your regular activity for the day, you will also need to continue giving your body the water it needs to maintain the balance of body fluids. When the temperature gets hot or the ride gets tougher, you will need more water to keep you going. So keep hydrating your body as you go through your day.

Know how much you will need to keep your ride going smoothly

Hydration is more of an individual requirement. Some need more water than others and there are a lot of factors that will contribute or influence your hydration need. So, whether you will be riding with a backpack and a hydration bladder or will just have to drink from a water bottle, you should know how much you will need to keep your ride going smoothly. An hour to 90 minutes of moderate riding may require about 750 ml of water. Longer bike rides will require you to bring drink more so you could either plan your route where there are plenty of water sources or you can bring more water with you that you can just reach out whenever you need to.

Drink a little often

You will need to be constantly sipping to replenish body fluids that you lose as you sweat. Consuming gel, energy bars, or drinks infused with energy giving fruits every so often while you are on your ride will allow your body to keep a healthy balance of body fluids and electrolytes in your body. Make sure that you drink at regular intervals and not only when you are thirsty as when you reach that point you may already be dehydrated. When your body is already dehydrated, it takes time before your body can recover from that state. Your performance has already suffered by then and your body will require more than what you should have you provided it with enough water at the moment it needed to have that fill.

Bring some electrolyte tablets with you

Although there are other sources of electrolytes, bringing quality electrolyte tablets is the easiest way to provide your body with potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium that you will also lose as you ride. These tablets can help retain the fluids that you are drinking, as well as add some flavor to the plain water that you have in your water bottle or hydration bladder.

Conclusion

With these easy hydration tips, you can keep enjoying a great ride without ever having to risk yourself of getting dehydrated.

A helmet can reduce the risk of any head and face injury and it can save your life. If you let your child ride with you on a motorcycle or, perhaps even drive one on his own, while wearing one of the best helmets for kids, you won’t as worried as much. If not, then you need to consider the following information.

The latest available information from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) indicates that motorcycle crashes result to about $16 billion in direct costs such as emergency services, medical costs including rehabilitation, property damage, loss of market productivity including lost wages, loss in household productivity, as well as insurance costs, including claims and the cost of defense attorneys.

As such the same office recommends that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the NHTSA, the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation, to grant states for motorcycle safety be expanded from motorcyclist training and motorist awareness efforts to include programs that will increase the use of helmets, safety awareness, and also educating police about motorcycle safety.

According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are 5,286 people who died in motorcycle crashes in 2016, which is a 5.1 percent increase from 5,029 in 2015. This indicates that motorcycle fatalities have increased for the second year in a row and are at the highest level since 2008. In 2016, motorcyclists were 28 times more likely than car passengers to die in a crash per vehicle mile traveled.

Can you just imagine the danger that having your child riding in a motorcycle could possibly have if he or she is not wearing a helmet? Even if you ensure that your child wears a helmet when he/she is in the road or is riding with you on a motorcycle, you still need to make sure that the helmet that your child is wearing will give the child the best protection needed to limit the risk of injury should a collision occur. Part of this is making sure that the helmet fits the child’s head well.

A helmet that fits snuggly on a wearer’s head should lie flat over the crown of the head. It has to cover the child’s forehead without obstructing his/her view. You will need to measure one to two (adult) finger widths between the child’s eyebrows and the bottom of the helmet to ensure that your child won’t find wearing the helmet cumbersome.

To ensure that the helmet won’t move, you will need to adjust the universal fit ring at the base of the helmet. It should be tight enough that the helmet does not fall off when your child bends over. It should also be loose enough that it does not put pressure on the child’s skull. Make sure that your child is not wearing a hat under his/her helmet. A child with a long hair may also tie her hair at the base of the neck.

Remember that your child should be wearing a helmet while on the road, even if it will just be a short trip.

Safety Reminders with the Chin Strap

Take note that helmet straps should lay flat against the child’s head as they form a “Y” at each earlobe. Adjust the straps so that they are snuggly fit yet still comfortable. You should be able to fit one finger width between the buckle and the chin. You may also try to twist or pull the helmet. If it won’t budge, then the chin strap fits just right. The helmet should also easily pull down when the child opens his/her mouth.

Finding Right-Fitting Helmet

To find the right-fitting helmet for your child, you will have to know the circumference of your child’s head. This will be the measurement of their head an inch or two just above their eyebrows. Take note that motorcycle helmets are designed with “fit pads” in its front, back and sides. Make sure that all of the pads inside the helmet are touching the child’s head evenly and the helmet stays won’t move even if you try moving it from side to side. It will be a comfort to note that these pads can be replaced with thinner ones as the child grows, which lessens the need to buy a new one as soon as a child outgrows a helmet.

Choosing A Safe Helmet For Your Child

One of the basic things that should never do to ensure that the helmet that your child will be wearing is safe is that your child should not be allowed to use a pre-loved helmet. Hand me downs do not guarantee the safety of the next user. You can never be sure how many times such a helmet has been mishandled or dropped, for instance. You may not also be certain whether such helmet meets current safety standards.

You will have to make sure that the helmet that your child will be wearing is free from cracks in any part of the helmet. If a helmet that your child has been using involved in a crash, you will need to replace it right away. This will ensure that your child will be wearing a safe motorcycle helmet any time. Even if there are no obvious damage on the helmet and it has not been worn for at least five years, you will still need to get a new one any time the helmet that your child has been using has received a significant blow.

Note that approved motorcyle helmets come with a sticker from Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or from any other safety standard setting organization,which indicates that the helmet has been tested and passed the Safety Standards set by the CPSC, and other safety promoting organization, such as the U.S Department of Transportation (DOT Safety Standards), Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the European Process Safety Centre (EPSC) Standard, and the SNELL Memorial Foundation.

It is comfort to know, however, that helmets that are being sold in the U.S. have passed passed certain safety standards. You also need to understand that helmets that higher-priced helmets are not necessarily made to be safer than inexpensive ones. Just make sure that a helmet that you intend to buy for your child has the appropriate sticker at the back of the helmet, as well as inside it as this indicates the actual certification granted by a Safety Standard awarding organization.

As a parent, it is your responsibility to look after the safety of your child. Take note of all these safety precautions we have listed. You will also need to always require your child to wear a helmet no matter the length of a ride he or she needs to be with you or the distance that your child needs to cover. Always check the helmet for hidden cracks, and ensure that your child is wearing the motorcycle helmet properly every time.